Tag: post-Easter engagement

You probably already know Easter is the highest-attended church service of the year. Hopefully you’ve prepared your church and website to ensure guests can easily find you this Easter and that they feel welcome when they attend your services. If you don’t have a proper follow-up plan in place, however, attendance will drop again in the weeks that follow. To keep guests and non-regulars coming back for more, create and implement a follow-up strategy using the suggestions below.

Boost Your Post-Easter Engagement

1. Draw them Back In

Don’t let your Easter sermon stand alone. Consider making it into an intriguing series that will pique the interest of your guests. At some point during the service or church announcements, tell the congregation what they can expect to hear during next week’s sermon. Choose topics that address the real-life struggles your attendees and visitors may be facing, such as divorce or addiction. The more relevant the topic, the more likely guests are to return.

2. Provide Details for Future Services

Many churches offer additional worship times for their Easter services to accommodate the larger number of attendees. This can lead to some confusion for guests who want to return but did not attend a standard worship time. Make sure your guests know exactly what time worship will be held in the coming weeks, along with any other information they may need, like where to park or Sunday school times.

3. List How to Connect

List all your contact information in several locations, such as on a guest information card and in any bulletins or brochures you hand out. Be sure to include any relevant phone numbers and email addresses, plus how to sign up for an e-newsletter and where they can find you on Facebook and other social media platforms. The more options you give them to connect, the more likely they are to do so.

4. Get their Contact Information

Despite giving guests numerous ways to connect with you, they may not want to “make the first move”, so it’s important to get their information in return. Consider leaving guest cards in every seat or put them in the bulletin, asking for their name, email, address, and phone number along with their preferred contact method. To encourage guests to fill these out, offer them an incentive such as a gift or a small donation made in their name to a particular charity.

5. Make the Connection

Getting contact information from your guests is only half the battle. You have to actually use that information if you want to make the connection and turn those visitors into regular attendees. Put a plan in place to follow-up with every guest who left their information. Connect within 24 to 48 hours of receiving their information. Ask how they liked the Easter services and ensure they know the time and place for next Sunday. If they provided an address, consider mailing them additional information on your church and the various ways they can get involved.

6. Stay Connected

Don’t forget about your guests after you make that first connection! You don’t want to bombard them with so many emails that they unsubscribe, but you also don’t want to give up after the first try. You never know when that one touch will happen at just the right time and drive them to come back to your church. So add guests to your monthly newsletter, send them invitations to upcoming events, and keep them informed of special services coming up. For more ideas on following up with your church visitors go here.

Every church sees a bump in attendance on Easter Sunday, but due to poor planning and lack of follow-up, attendance drops again in the weeks that follow. Don’t squander your opportunity to connect with newcomers and turn them into regular attendees. Our mystery guest program has shown just how effective those follow-ups are:

“I received a follow-up card a few days after my visit, from the pastor. It was a nice handwritten note thanking us for visiting and inviting us to come again.”

If you’d like to find out just how well you’re connecting with visitors, our mystery guest program can provide you with the unbiased feedback you’re looking for. These mystery guests will come into your church and evaluate everything from the parking lot to the greeters to any follow-up they receive after leaving their information. They report back on how well your church performs in each of these areas so you can make adjustments to better connect with future visitors.